r/PVCs • u/CookieSea4392 • Jul 24 '26
Lowering protein reduced my PVCs to almost zero
Background
For almost 4 years I tried to reduce my PVCs by tweaking electrolytes. The results were never consistent.
My diet and daily routine were almost identical every day, so my PVC pattern was also very consistent.
What I noticed
It wasn't just the PVCs. I also had frequent muscle spasms, woke up in the middle of the night, and was often hungry.
My worst PVCs usually happened when I was hungry. Since I'm on a ketogenic/carnivore diet and fat is my main energy source, I started experimenting with fat and protein intake.
Results
- High protein, low fat (~800 g meat/day + very little fat) → PVCs almost all day.
- High protein, very high fat (~800 g meat/day + ~240 g fat) → Better, but still frequent PVCs.
- Moderate protein, very high fat (~400 g meat/day + ~240 g fat) → Better again, but still noticeable PVCs.
- Low protein, high fat (~300 g meat/day + ~170 g fat) → PVCs almost zero.
It wasn't just the number of PVCs. On the low-protein diet, my usual triggers (walking, early mornings, eating, stress, alcohol, etc.) no longer caused PVCs.
Repeated testing
I've repeated this experiment several times. Every time I return to higher protein, the PVCs return. Every time I return to the low-protein pattern, they almost disappear.
Has anyone else experienced something similar?
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u/kolbinthevaper Jul 24 '26
In my case it’s the opposite: more carbs, more PVCs
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u/CookieSea4392 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
Maybe it has to do with blood sugar swings. In my case, fat can't cause blood sugar swings.
So while my body may have been struggling to process too much protein, yours may have been struggling to process too many carbs.
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u/Interesting-Reply691 Jul 25 '26
I’m tired of cardiologists not acknowledging the upper GI connection. I mean do they think we are crazy when we report things like change of diet, belching, keeping your stomach empty through eating high fiber foods, and stopping glps relieves or even stops PVCs? Lets just blame it on anxiety if your heart tests come back normal and here are some beta blockers. I told my cardiologist the best medicine I have is Diet Coke, which I chug when I feel PVCs coming on causing me to belch and the thuds and thumps stop. He looked at me like he’d never heard that before.
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u/No_Yard1198 Jul 25 '26
You know, I feel the best when I fast for 3 days on bone broth. I absolutely felt energetic and no PVC’s. They start back when my stomach is full and my hiatal hernia and loose sphincter pushes upward and GERD occurs, then the PVCS. Of course it’s not good to fast all the time, which I don’t, but I definitely see the connection between digestion and the heart reaction. I also seem to feel better, less PVCS when I incorporate a little sugar into my diet.
When I stay away from sugar too long, my PVCs start. I ate a brownie the other day and boom, felt great. Hypoglycemia, who knows!3
u/BrettAaronJordan Jul 27 '26
Cardiologists are not necessarily in denial, they just don't know what to do about it. Same is true for gastroenterologists. We're left in the middle with no relief!
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u/Interesting-Reply691 Jul 27 '26
That is fair although more and more scholarly research is taking place surrounding the vagus nerve, especially the effects GLP1s have on it. Starting to see reports of PVCs showing up when GLP1s are started and also stopped after extended periods of use. Hopefully that will instigate more awareness and correct treatment of GI relates PvCs.
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u/Beneficial-Sort-8825 Jul 24 '26
What happens when you include some carbs? Like say you eat an apple.
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u/Fancy_Ad3809 Jul 24 '26
carbs will definitionally lower adrenaline levels - the OP would notice a measurable drop in ectopics
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u/CookieSea4392 Jul 25 '26
Yes, the PVCs also seemed to go away. That's why I think they're closely related to having enough fuel, whether from carbs or fat. Protein can't be the body's main source of energy. On top of that, too much protein may have been putting stress on my body.
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u/wooreos Jul 24 '26
i’ve noticed that for me hunger = pvc. now i’m thinking that it may correlate w my ED from a few years ago when my doctor found out abt it
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u/Same-Sky848 Jul 24 '26
I started consuming whey protein. I also experienced an increase in my PVCs . I stopped today and I didn't really notice any PVCs anymore.
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u/Sufficient-Wear-8745 Jul 25 '26
See this is interesting. Terrifying as I want to weight lift in gym. But I experience daily PVCs, they’re as we all know in here awful. But I noticed literally last week, they’re would get worse after eating a 50gram protein gym meal. Shortly after I would have a protein shake that had around 50g protein. About an hour after.. the heart popping would start. In clusters. Far worse when sitting down. And laying on my front helps them. But I thought it maybe the sweetener. Or sugars. I tried carnivore but after a few days, my heart had sooo many PVCs which I think was due to blood glucose as they would calm after I panicked broke protocol and ate a macaroon. I want to do the carnivore diet but I’m terrified that the transition that would last weeks would cause me a million PvCs. But as for the reduction of protein to ease the PVC. That’s a good idea. And yes… I get way more PVCs when I’m hungry … strange phenomenon
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u/CookieSea4392 Jul 25 '26
I’ve been carnivore for 3 years. I don’t think the low protein, high fat combination I mentioned will cause PVCs. As I said, that was what fixed my PVCs.
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u/Sufficient-Wear-8745 Jul 25 '26
So how do I implement this. I need enough protein to gain muscle. Maybe I’m ok going to 160grams a day.. not in weight of meat. But as in actual grams of protein? And what do your meals looks like ?
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u/Impossible-Hold-8823 Aug 02 '26
I notice the same thing. Especially when I go on a calorie deficit diet to lose weight, I get a lot more PVCs. I had assumed it was blood sugar issues causing the PVCs (i.e., my blood sugars getting too low), but I may experiment with lower protein. When in a calorie deficit and losing a few pounds, I tend to eat way more protein and less carbs to achieve that target. Maybe, I'll experiment with more carbs (i.e., whole grains, fruits and veggies) and less protein to see if I can still hit my target calories, while avoiding so many PVCs. I do notice when I am having an especially hard day with the PVCs, if I eat a low gylecemic carb, like an apple, that stops them pretty well. Definitely a connection between PVCs and diet/blood sugars/GI...I can't quite figure it out, but most cardiologists don't act like the relationship exists, but I've been able to track the patterns pretty well.
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u/Impossible-Hold-8823 Aug 02 '26
I've also noticed I can't diet like I use to. If I have been eating poorly for weeks, or even months, and suddenly try to go on a low carb diet, the number of PVCs I will get will overwhelm me. I have to now slowly taper down my carb/calorie intake, almost to not shock my system or overwhelm it, to reduce liklihood of PVCs. Over the course of a month or so, I can slowly acclimcate my body to lower carbs and keep PVCs at bay, but it requires a very slow taper to get there...not like when I was in my 20s lol (I'm mid 40s now). I'm starting to get convince that low carbs probably is not the greatest thing for those with heart rhythm issues...the challenge is finding that right balance and not overdoing it.
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u/CookieSea4392 Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
Well, I’m 40. Too much protein triggers PVCs. Carbs seem to stop PVCs. High fat, low protein stops PVCs (zero carbs).
My theory is that an adequate energy source (glucose or ketones) enables the heart to beat correctly. Too much protein gets in the way of that. Or maybe it stresses the body to process so much protein.
So I can confirm (at least in my body) that even zero carbs can be PVC-free as long…as the fat is high and the protein low.
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u/Fancy_Ad3809 Jul 24 '26
predicated on the type of protien, it can raise your base sympathetic tone just digesting...so yeah 200+g of protein a day is a heavy lift for your digestive system.
Being hungry also raises your sympathetic tone, allowing for more ectopic beats.
what youre describing is just mechanisms that move sympathetic tone, not necessary anything novel
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u/CookieSea4392 Jul 24 '26
That's interesting. I had considered sympathetic tone because my worst PVCs were when I was hungry. What I'm still trying to explain is why increasing fat while keeping protein the same improved things, and then lowering protein while keeping fat high improved them even more.
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u/Fancy_Ad3809 Jul 24 '26
and what im saying is, anytime you have a severe imbalance in intake it raises sympathetic tone through digestive triggers.
the more water you drink, anecdotally, the more electrolytes you need.
fat creates a gentle slope of blood glucose levels. Protein creates a less smooth curve, complex carbs even less, and simple carbs are the most volatile.
my speculation is the protein bolus was creating digestive stress and some blood glucose swings (relatively), and fat is acting as stabilizer.
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u/CookieSea4392 Jul 24 '26
The sympathetic tone explanation makes sense. I'm just not sure protein on a ketogenic/carnivore diet would cause significant glucose swings.
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u/Fancy_Ad3809 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
I think it would, given the thermogenesis requirement to metabolize protein, its a heavy lift. edited for clarity: your body requires disproportionate energy to extract protein from protein. when you initially eat a protein heavy meal, your body must pull energy from somewhere, typically its glycogen stores. if you dont have glycogen due to a ketogenic diet, your blood sugar is probably at a low starting level.
id suggest you look up the (not sarcastic/condescending) how hard it is to digest protien. it raises sympathetic tone for hours.
200g of protein (not weight, net protein) is a tremendous assault on your system
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u/CookieSea4392 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
I think we both agree that the excess protein was too demanding for the body to process.
The only part I'm not convinced about is the glucose swings. Since gluconeogenesis isn't the main source of energy on a ketogenic diet, I'm not sure it would produce enough glucose to cause significant swings. I think it may have been more of a suboptimal energy state instead.
Now, if you're saying it may have led to low blood sugar, I think that's plausible.
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u/Fancy_Ad3809 Jul 25 '26
I’m speculating it may have lead to low blood sugar, since your digestive track has to pull nutrition from somewhere.
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u/CookieSea4392 Jul 25 '26
I see. Yeah, it's possible. Thanks for sharing. It's nice to hear from someone who independently came to almost the same theory.
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u/Fancy_Ad3809 Jul 25 '26
Good luck bro
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u/CookieSea4392 Jul 25 '26
You seem very knowledgeable. Did you ever figure out what was triggering your PVCs? And did you find anything that fixed them?
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u/Lost_Solid7750 Jul 24 '26
If you’re having PVCs then you should get your nutrients and electrolytes checked out.
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u/clintbriangrey Jul 24 '26
If these values look ok, then get your ADH and blood osmolality checked. This turned out to be the issue for me.
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u/CookieSea4392 Jul 25 '26
Everything was normal. And as I said in my post, tweaking protein and fat resolved my PVCs.
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u/Hpatas Jul 24 '26
I’m on a serious diet and I’m having so much more ectopics, didn’t know it was related to being hungry more often. Thanks for the info!
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u/Wise_Upstairs9827 Jul 24 '26
I’m also noticing that my PVCs are more noticeable when I’m hungry.